President William Ruto has rewarded former Kinango MP Benjamin Dalu Tayari with the lucrative position of the chairperson of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) for a duration of three years.
In a Gazette Notice dated January 13, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen revoked the appointment of Gen (Rtd) Joseph R. E Kibwana for the former lawmaker to take over.
Mr Tayari, a staunch ally of President Ruto was defeated in the August General Election by his predecessor Samuel Gonzi Rai who made a comeback through Pamoja African Alliance (PAA).
The lawmaker also applied for Principal Secretary job and despite being shortlisted, he did not reach the final list where the Head of State appointed 51 accounting officers of various State departments.
When Dr Ruto, then as the country’s second in command was blocked at Wilson Airport in 2021 while heading to Uganda, Mr Tayari was in the delegation together with Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro among others for the business trip, painting a picture of how Mr Tayari is a trusted ally of the Head of State.
Mr Tayari is taking over the chairmanship of KPA at a time that the search for the new managing director enters a critical stage after recruitment ended on Friday.
Starting next week, the authority’s board which will be chaired by Mr Tayari is expected to start conducting interviews to pick the MD and conclude the shortlisting process.
The parastatal has not had a substantive head since the year 2020 when Daniel Manduku exited under a cloud of controversy. He had a pending court case.
The successful candidate is expected to manage different KPA ports including Mombasa, Lamu, Kisumu and Nairobi ports, and the Naivasha Inland Container Depot.
In July 2021, KPA appointed the current acting MD Mr Mwangemi who took over from Eng Rashid Salim who had been in the same position since the exit of Dr Manduku.
Since the resignation of Dr Manduku in March 2020, efforts to hire a new CEO have been marred by intrigues, including claims of biases, intimidation, political influence, boardroom wrangles and fraud.